alcohol

meggylove
meggylove Posts: 12
edited October 2 in Food and Nutrition
I have been on a MFP calorie counted diet for 5 months now and dropped 15 lbs.
I love beer, and am able to stay within my calorie limit for the day as long as I am careful to save a few hundred calories on days that I go out drinking. However, I wonder if it is better to drink wine or liquor(you never hear anybody complaining about a "wine belly"). Does it really matter WHAT you drink (beer/wine/liquor) as long as you are within your calorie limit at the end of the day?

Replies

  • Sugarchef
    Sugarchef Posts: 319 Member
    Excellent question, although I don't have the answer. I'm a vodka girl myself.
  • sillygoose1977
    sillygoose1977 Posts: 2,151 Member
    I have pretty much given up beer for the last couple of months and tried to stick to vodka and diet tonic. I am having much better results without the beer. Hopefully I can stick to this with football season starting...
  • AddA2UDE
    AddA2UDE Posts: 382
    I "supplement" with beer. ;) As you say, save a calorie or two for the liquid gold. LOL!
  • meggylove
    meggylove Posts: 12
    vodka and diet cranberry or the new diet sparkling cranberry is the way to go! 80 calories per drink! I can only drink so much liquor before craving a nice cold beer though :-P
  • meggylove
    meggylove Posts: 12
    And yes football season makes it ESPECIALLY hard to forego the beer (and wings!)
  • epj78
    epj78 Posts: 643 Member
    I think it's just the calories that matter. I find I drink a lot more beer when I drink beer vs. wine or alcohol. I think that is where beer belly comes from :)
  • yessicaguajardo
    yessicaguajardo Posts: 2
    well its best to drink once in a while not all the time.the bset thing is to drink water :drinker:
  • cervenec
    cervenec Posts: 64
    I think this is a "not all calories are created equal" situation. However, when I've binged a bit when it comes to beer I've never noticed a problem if I look at my progress over a week. Everything's okay in moderation. :)

    I think the wine thing.... If I am drinking wine, I drink a lot less! It's much easier for to drink a bit more beer. I think wine/liquor social drinking is different from beer social drinking.
  • ymmap22
    ymmap22 Posts: 6
    Has anyone that has had a Gastric Bypass found a drink that they can have that does not mess up the calorie count and your new stomach.
  • rocketpants
    rocketpants Posts: 419 Member
    any type of alcohol is pretty bad for fat loss.
    It make you dehydrated
    messes with your sleep
    contains zero nutrition but a lot of calories
    encourages poor food choices
    discourages activity
    messes with your liver which is responsible for metabolizing fat
  • sillygoose1977
    sillygoose1977 Posts: 2,151 Member
    any type of alcohol is pretty bad for fat loss.
    It make you dehydrated
    messes with your sleep
    contains zero nutrition but a lot of calories
    encourages poor food choices
    discourages activity
    messes with your liver which is responsible for metabolizing fat

    Debbie Downer :wink:
  • wendibartel
    wendibartel Posts: 132
    any type of alcohol is pretty bad for fat loss.
    It make you dehydrated
    messes with your sleep
    contains zero nutrition but a lot of calories
    encourages poor food choices
    discourages activity
    messes with your liver which is responsible for metabolizing fat

    You forgot to end this with " any other questions"?
  • Sallyismyname
    Sallyismyname Posts: 43 Member
    Oh girl, you have just been introduced to the girl with the wine belly... me! LOL... most people can drink more beers than wine. Beer is sold in 12 packs, 24 packs, ect. A bottle of wine is, well, significantly less than that.

    I have done massive research on this. Trust me when I say, this might hurt. I hurt me, shook me, and almost made me decide that being thin wasn't an option. Cut the Alcohol completely... at least for a week. Alcohol makes your metabolism stop for at least 24 hours... not completely... but pretty much. Your body processes the alc. first, leaving the food consumed/to be consumed stored until the alc. is completely out of you system. Calorie content when it comes to alc. is only half the battle. Your body will only burn a small percentage of calories the next day in comparison to if you had not drank alc. Here is a link... see for yourself. http://www.fitnessquestonline.com/EffectsofAlcoholonFatMetabolism.pdf

    So... long story short. Light beer, wine, vodca... all crap for your body/muscles/metabolism. How those freaks on Jersey Shore stay so thin... beyond me ;) but, I still drink, but only on occasion. Limiting my alc. has helped my body function and burn fat and release energy properly. I almost never do a harsh workout after my night out, as it is pretty much a waste considering my body is still working on metabolizing the alc. I just eat light, drink water, flush it all out and go back to being sober/bored/workout and diet freak the next day. I know it sucks, girl. I know. But just try for yourself!!!
  • rocketpants
    rocketpants Posts: 419 Member
    Debbie Downer :wink:

    I know right. Who invited this guy?
  • cervenec
    cervenec Posts: 64
    any type of alcohol is pretty bad for fat loss.
    It make you dehydrated
    messes with your sleep
    contains zero nutrition but a lot of calories
    encourages poor food choices
    discourages activity
    messes with your liver which is responsible for metabolizing fat

    Alcohol is bad for just about everything- it is one of the most addictive and damaging drugs someone can take, and is easy to get addicted to.
    However, drinking is okay in moderation. It's okay in a good environment that does not encourage getting drunk off your face if the people drinking are being responsible.
    Anything can be bad and damaging if it's abused.
  • 1FineFaye84
    1FineFaye84 Posts: 46 Member
    Oy vey.. I'm a whiskey girl through and through! I see that MFP has whiskey as 67calories/ounce. And, I always manage to have a drink or a few most days... I do save calories for it though, but this may by why the pounds aren't exactly coming off the way I'd like! But I do like my shots! lol :laugh:
  • meggylove
    meggylove Posts: 12
    Debbie Downer :wink:

    I know right. Who invited this guy?

    haha I was thinking the same thing
  • meggylove
    meggylove Posts: 12
    Oh girl, you have just been introduced to the girl with the wine belly... me! LOL... most people can drink more beers than wine. Beer is sold in 12 packs, 24 packs, ect. A bottle of wine is, well, significantly less than that.

    I have done massive research on this. Trust me when I say, this might hurt. I hurt me, shook me, and almost made me decide that being thin wasn't an option. Cut the Alcohol completely... at least for a week. Alcohol makes your metabolism stop for at least 24 hours... not completely... but pretty much. Your body processes the alc. first, leaving the food consumed/to be consumed stored until the alc. is completely out of you system. Calorie content when it comes to alc. is only half the battle. Your body will only burn a small percentage of calories the next day in comparison to if you had not drank alc. Here is a link... see for yourself. http://www.fitnessquestonline.com/EffectsofAlcoholonFatMetabolism.pdf

    So... long story short. Light beer, wine, vodca... all crap for your body/muscles/metabolism. How those freaks on Jersey Shore stay so thin... beyond me ;) but, I still drink, but only on occasion. Limiting my alc. has helped my body function and burn fat and release energy properly. I almost never do a harsh workout after my night out, as it is pretty much a waste considering my body is still working on metabolizing the alc. I just eat light, drink water, flush it all out and go back to being sober/bored/workout and diet freak the next day. I know it sucks, girl. I know. But just try for yourself!!!

    Whoa that does suck. I don't think I could ever go a whole week without drinking LOL!!!
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    The hops in beer contains an estrogenic compound that will also promote fat gain. These compounds, while sounding more scary to guys, are bad for both men and women. They add estrogen to your body's chemistry and will create an imbalance in your hormones. This hormonal imbalance is another huge reason that you may have belly fat.

    •onions
    •garlic
    •leafy greens
    •broccoli
    •cabbage
    •berries
    •citrus fruits
    •raw nuts & seeds


    These foods will fight the excess estrogen you may have in your body and help you in your goal to get rid of that beer belly fat. One thing to keep in mind is that estrogenic compounds are not only found in beer, but other foods as well (soy is one of them). This is why it's important to make the above foods apart of your daily diet.

    these are a couple paragraphs of a lengthy article but all in all like all other items MODERATION is key!
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    I am an avid craft beer drinker and unfortunately beer has almost the worst alcohol:calories ratio possible. If you want the best, drink straight spirits (whiskey, vodka) or spirits with water or other 0-cal drinks (diet coke, etc). The very worst are the sugary mixed drinks, margaritas and such. Beyond terrible for you.

    I still drink my beer, it hasn't hindered my weight loss at all so I'm happy. It gives me motivation to do some exercise to earn extra calories. So I get in better shape and get to drink my beer at the same time. Win/win.
  • DestinyDarbi
    DestinyDarbi Posts: 260 Member
    I haven't had alcohol in like.. over a year. So.. if you really want to quit the beer... do what I did.. Have a baby!! :laugh: Sorry.. my comment has no real substance to it :ohwell:
  • lanneydeeg
    lanneydeeg Posts: 6
    love all your replys to this subject but im another girl who at weekends see having a drink no lets put it another way getting drunk with my friends something to look falward to its what makes a crap week go faster but have any of you ever noticed i have never came accross a fat alcoholic? strange eh and look at people in france they live healthy lives yet drink alcohol everyday with there meals its part of there culture to have wine everyday with there meals anyway i myself drink vodka and ginger ale with a twist of lime or lemon with plenty of ice so im getting my water intake aswell and dont get bad hangover with the plenty of ice i am also saving up my calories to accomodate this so fingers crossed
  • belinda_b
    belinda_b Posts: 70 Member
    If you have lost weight drinking beer and continue to do so, it doesn't seem to be a problem as far as weight loss goes.

    I have lost 11 pounds while still having some wine everyday.
  • hmstarbuck
    hmstarbuck Posts: 152 Member
    Excellent post! This is my biggest problem is giving up the alcohol. I work at a bar and most of my friends hang out there. So it's just part of my life style. I do believe I will switch to lower calorie vodka instead of my yummy miller lite. I switched to 64 before but just end up drinking twice as many.

    And it's not the devil to everyone............. Just sayin
  • rocketpants
    rocketpants Posts: 419 Member
    ...er but have any of you ever noticed i have never came accross a fat alcoholic? strange eh and look at people in france they live healthy ...

    there are plenty of fat alcoholics out there. Those in advanced stages of aloholism have often quit eating entirely and are getting all of their calories from booze. They are usually thin an extremely poorly nourished
  • lanneydeeg
    lanneydeeg Posts: 6
    after my wee drink last night with my ice i have still woke up with a hangover guess i didnt put enough ice in lol never mind i gave up smoking over 10yrs ago i did it because i felt i had to for the obvious health reasons but i didnt want to because i enjoyed smoking so im not ready to give up having a drink at weekends because i enjoy it and look falward to the weekends otherwise weekends wouldnt be much diffrent from weekdays boring lol :drinker:
  • kitinboots
    kitinboots Posts: 589 Member
    I drink wine/champagne 6 nights a week. Between 1 and 5 glasses usually. I leave myself enough calories for these, and if I drink less then i eat them in food.
    I exercise occasionally, but not usually when I'm working and drinking.
    My stomach shows no signs of the booze sticking to it :)
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    I would switch to wine or liquers (but straight up, not fruity martinis).
    Here's a cool blog post about how to plan for your drinking while trying to lose weight:
    http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html
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